Hosting is a huge, complex topic, often hotly debated. It’s very much price-driven today and a quick look at any host company here or offshore, there’s a trend to pushing the special offers and promises of unlimited this and that to give the appearance of value.
Shared Hosting, typically $15-25/month
But don’t expect perfection at this price. If you’re starting out and expect little traffic for a while, then it many be worth a try. You may be lucky. But remember these cheap host options (here or offshore), will always be a shared host system with hundreds of other domains sharing the same server resources. If one or more sites gets busy (or under attack), everyone suffers, meaning there will be occasional performance issues, often around 9-10am on weekdays.
The risk of the site being hacked also increases too with these big shared systems, so a good backup regime is mandatory (don’t rely upon the host company), as is additional security scripts installed by a developer. I think a good analogy to shared hosting is an overload public transport system or train.
VPS Semi-shared Hosting
For business use we’d often recommend a VPS (virtual private server) where resources may still be shared but with far fewer and more controlled, much like a charter tour bus service where everyone is identified and needs are known. Yet because some costs are still shared, there can be a balance between cost and performance. This is critical if you intend to grow and want higher, more consistent performance, security and search ranking.
Managed VPS
The next level is a fully managed business grade managed cloud VPS server. These packages are individually tailored, plus may also take care of routine Server+WordPress upgrades, tweaks, security and monitoring. Costs will be in the order of $80-250/mth. But it’s a complete worry-free, high performance package. For busy businesses or shopping sites especially, it’s the safest, best option.
Cloud and Dedicated systems
Beyond this are ‘cloud configurations as well as dedicated servers. Pricing ranges from $200-800/mth plus support and software fees. The big cloud providers like amazon are becoming popular, but seldom provide the performance or value claimed. A custom VPS or dedicated server still retains a significant performance advantage for a similar monthly investment. ‘The cloud’ has benefits, but without considerable additional expense, high speed is not one of them. And when it comes to online today, speed is everything.
[gravityform id=”2″ name=”Contact us” description=”false”]
p.s. If you want to learn more on hosting, checkout our meetup blog article